Pearl Brewery's new solar project began this week

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, July 5, 2008

Matt Surgeson, with Meridian Energy Services, installs panels on top of the Full Goods Building in the Pearl Brewery complex.

Matt Surgeson, with Meridian Energy Services, installs panels on top of the Full Goods Building in the Pearl Brewery complex.

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, EXPRESS-NEWS

Pearl Brewery's new solar project began this week

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More than a year ago, the developer of Pearl Brewery announced it was going to install the largest solar panel array in Texas. This week, it began to become a reality.

The 700-plus solar panels will provide 200 kilowatts of energy to the Full Goods Building, a 67,000-square-foot renovated warehouse that will soon be home to offices, retail space, two restaurants and eight residential units. A 200-kilowatt system will provide about 25 percent of the building's energy use, said Bob Sohn, a senior adviser with Silver Ventures, the brewery's developer.

Not only will the panels provide energy, but there will be an interactive display for visitors to see how solar panels work and how much energy is being created.

"The intent for this is to be a learning laboratory for CPS Energy, for us and for other developers," Sohn said. "If this proves to be successful and is cost-effective, and as costs continue to go down for solar, our goal is to do this on future buildings."

Silver Ventures funded $950,000 of the $1.4 million in solar equipment. CPS Energy put in the remaining $400,000.

"This is another way for CPS Energy to push ahead with efforts to diversify our portfolio of renewable energy resources," Milton Lee, general manager and chief executive of CPS Energy, said in a news release.

The solar setup will take about a month to install, and construction on the building should be finished in October.

"It's been challenging, but it's been really exciting at the same time because it is such a large project," said Jason Comstock, project manager for Meridian Energy Systems, the Austin company handling the installation project.

Silver Ventures is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Efficiency Design certification to meet green building standards for the Full Goods Building.

The 22-acre Pearl Brewery already collects rainwater, which is stored in cisterns that once held beer. Xeriscaping, using drought-tolerant native plants, continues, Sohn said.

The Pearl Brewery operated from 1883 until 2001. Silver Ventures bought the site in 2002 and has been turning it into a mixed-use development.